A Prayer to Live With Grace

May we discover through pain and torment,
the strength to live with grace and humor.
May we discover through doubt and anguish,
the strength to live with dignity and holiness.
May we discover through suffering and fear,
The strength to move toward healing.
May it come to pass that we be restored to health and to vigor.
May life grant us wellness of body, spirit, and mind.
And if this cannot be so, may we find in this transformation and passage
Moments of meaning, opportunities for love
and the deep and gracious calm that comes
when we allow ourselves to move on.

~Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro

Come, God, and hear my cry;
my spirit thirsts for you.
My body withers, weary, dry.
Come, Spirit God, renew!

Resting in the Divine presence
     trusting the fertile darkness
     yielding to the unknown
     in the process of becoming

Held in mystery
     everything is no-thing
     emptiness is abundance
     absence is presence
Silence in the sacred moment
Eternity is now

~Susan Gregg-Schroeder

So often, Divine One
     the tasks before me
     feel overwhelming and impossible
     The expectations of others weigh heavy
     upon my shoulders.

At times like these,
     I think I need to do something
     to invest more time and effort
     to pray longer and harder
     to embark on a journey
     in search of the Kingdom.

When I am too tired to "do" anymore
     when I am content just to "be"
     when I stop long enough to rest
     when I am finally ready to give up

I find myself sitting on a treasure
     You have hidden in a field
     waiting for me to discover

When I lift the treasure
     from its hiding place,
     I find that You have
     graced me with adequacy
     for all that lies ahead.

~Susan Gregg-Schroeder

O Holy God,
     open unto me
          light for my darkness,
          courage for my fear,
          hope for my despair.
O loving God,
     open unto me
          wisdom for my confusion,
          forgiveness for my sins,
          love for my hate.
O God of peace,
     open unto me
          peace for my turmoil,
          joy for my sorrow,
          strength for my weakness.
O generous God,
     open my heart
          to receive all your gifts.

~Howard Thurman

From chaos and emptiness,
From loneliness and lifelessness,
     Come, Creator, Come.

From darkness and shapelessness,
From the abyss and awfulness,
     Come, Creator, Come.

From fearfulness and hopelessness,
From weakness and dreadfulness,
     Come, Creator, Come.

~A Celtic Prayer - David Adam

Break into my confusion, Lord.
Help me to know who I am
     and what I am meant to be.
Guide, uphold and strengthen me
     as I leave behind the world
     of limits and labels.
Guide, uphold and strengthen me
     as together we create a world
     of infinite possibility.

~Susan Gregg-Schroeder

Spirit God, you know our needs
                    our wounds
                         our hurts
                             our fears
Even before we can form them
     into words of prayers.

You are patient with us.
You are protective of us.
You are present with us
     until some time that we are able
     to ask for what we need.
Thank you, Spirit God,
     for your healing taking place within
     before we are even aware
     of how broken we have become.

~Susan Gregg-Schroeder

Coming Home

O God, the journey has been so long.
I've taken every side road along the way.
I've explored all the hidden places.
As your prodigal daughter,
I've felt that I could find the way myself.

Even so, You, as loving parent, were beside me
     same when my strength was gone
     nurturing me when I was helpless.

And when I was exhausted
         floundering
         ready to give up,
You touched me with Your grace,
And I felt Your abundant love.

We walked back home together...
     hand in hand.

~Susan Gregg-Schroeder

Sojourners of Faith

Come along with me
     as a sojourner of faith.
Bring along
     a sense of expectancy
     a vision of high hopes
     a glimpse of future possibility
     a vivid imagination.
For God's creation is not done.

We are called to pioneer
     a future yet unnamed.
As we venture forward,
     we leave behind our desire for
          a no-risk life
          worldly accumulations
          certainty of answers.

Let us travel light
     in the spirit of faith and expectations
     toward the God of our hopes and dreams.
May we be witnesses
     to God's future breaking in.

Come along with me
     as a sojourner of faith
     secure in the knowledge
     that we never travel alone.

~Susan Gregg-Schroeder